Tuesday, August 7, 2012

We are sometimes led to believe that those who desire to create a new reality using the Law of Attraction must be immune from the world around them. You must live in an ivory tower and pay no attention to the trials and tribulations behind the curtain. This is not true as it is through the darkness that we learn to see the Light. Siddhartha is a prime example. As you can see from the story below, if Siddhartha had followed the advice of his father and remained blind to the world, there would have been no Buddha. But the lesson of his life points another key element to enlightenment. While Buddha had to see and experience the troubles and atrocities of the world, he did not get caught up with them. It is as if he said, "I have seen what is wrong, and that is not me. I will find the path that will free all from their suffering" In this way, he did not start a war on poverty; start a revolution against the elite; or deny through 'positive thinking' that these issues even existed. What he did is to say, "This is not me. This is not the way to live, so I choose a different path; a path of freedom for all to follow.

No great avatar separated themselves from their brothers and sisters. They obserserved their problems, empathized, and then found the way out. They never stayed on the 'mountain' in the hopes that they could 'wish' the troubles of the world away. They were in, but not of this world. The greatest lessons of wisdom arise from the darkness. In fact, in the beginning, "the darkness was upon the face of the deep...and the light was "divided from the darkness." In order to know what you want, you must first see what you don't want. So yes, see the troubles in the world and learn from them. But, don't become a part of them. Find the path that will set you free!

How Siddhartha Gautama Became the "Buddha"

Siddhartha Gautama lived in northern India in the 6th century C.E.
He was born into a Hindu family of the ruling caste. Ancient Buddhist
texts record slightly different stories about his life and how he became
a "Buddha" or "enlightened one." Here is the most common version.
Siddhartha
was about 5 days old when his father called a group of priests together
for a feast. He asked them about the infant's future. They prophesied
that the infant would either become a great king or a great sage. The
father preferred his son to become a great king, so he structured his
son's life such that he never had to face any of the hardship or
struggles of life.
Why?
Because in the Hindu tradition of
the time (which you can read about here), those who became holy men or
sages followed a path of renunciation. At a certain point in their
lives, they would renounce what was called "householder" life - a life
of marriage, family, work, etc. - and go live in the forest where they
spent the rest of their lives in study, meditation and other spiritual
practices.
Siddhartha's father did not want his son to become one
of these renouncers, so he made sure his son's life was as perfect as
possible, offering everything wonderful and nothing negative or
upsetting. The father made sure his son was shielded from anything that
would make him want to leave the kingdom.One
day, as Siddhartha was touring a park area of the kingdom, he saw four
things that changed his life. First, he saw a sick person. He had
never seen a sick person before and was shocked at the sight. Next, he
saw an old person, someone stooped over and suffering the effects of old
age. Again, he was shocked for he'd never seen this suffering before.
Then, he saw a corpse! He'd certainly never seen a dead person before,
nor did he even really understand the reality of death. His father had
kept him sheltered from all these things, particularly death.
Finally,
he saw a sage or holy man walking up the path. The sage passed by the
sick person, the old person and the corpse - and as he did so, his face
and demeanor was filled with compassion, peacefulness and joy.
Siddhartha
at that moment recognized for the first time the profound suffering
that even the best of lives involves. He resolved to be like the sage,
who in the midst of sickness, old age and death could still live a life
of compassion, peacefulness and joy.
So, he returned to the palace
and made plans to renounce the kingdom and his life, and to wander into
the forest to seek enlightenment. (http://www.world-religions-professor.com/siddhartha.html)

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I am a multi-published author, holistic life coach and nationally syndicated writer. I have expertise in the areas of self-growth and transformation, the esoteric, life coaching, religion and "all things that matter."